Former Assembly Leader Silver Out of Prison After Eight Months

Sheldon Silver, the disgraced former New York State Assembly speaker has been furloughed from federal prison after serving a fraction of his six-and-a-half-year sentence.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Silver had been released to await possible placement on home confinement.

Silver entered the federal prison in Otisville in late August following his sentencing in a public corruption case.

Prison officials would not discuss details of Silver's release. The Justice Department can permit inmates to finish sentences in home confinement if they are deemed to be at risk due to Covid-19.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York indicated prosecutors opposed home confinement for Silver.

It was not clear exactly when Silver had been released or where he was staying after leaving the prison.